One M&M candy has the same glycemic index as NINE (9) Strawberries!

I love my job.  I get to visit with some amazing people everyday - my patients, staff members and friends.  Recently a patient shared this tidbit learned in a continuing education forum, "One M&M candy has the same glycemic index as Nine whole strawberries."  WHAT?!!!  This got me thinking... I love M&Ms.  I can easily eat way too many M&Ms in one setting.  But, could I eat nine strawberries in one sitting? ? ?

There are certain things that were in my dental school education, but are not utilized every day in my dental practice.  So, I decided to do a little research.  I like what the Mayo Clinic has to say, so I started there.  "The glycemic index was originally developed to help improve blood sugar control in diabetes."  The lower the glycemic index or glycemic load, the less that food affects blood sugar and insulin levels.  However, when we are looking at a healthy diet, you can't just choose a food with a low glycemic index.  Some of those foods are not nutritionally balanced.  Nutrition is a very complicated field of study, in my opinion.

The Short part of the story is... size does not matter!  Just because it is tiny, does not mean that it cannot pack a punch.  I am making a resolution to eat less M&Ms (less candy) and strive for a more balanced diet.  Oh, don't worry - I'll slip up and eat those delicious foods from time to time, striving for what we all need... MODERATION.

It's too bad that understanding nutrition is complicated by all the different fad diets out there.  Getting down to the basics may sound easy, but can be difficult to maintain with a busy lifestyle.  So here's my advice... Start with  Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate (below).  Make some small changes to incorporate more healthy foods into your diet and less unhealthy foods.  After you have adjusted to those changes, THEN start thinking about ways to improve your diet even more. 

From a dental perspective, try to limit between meal snacks.  Each time you eat food or drink a sugary beverage it takes at least 2 hours for the pH level (acidity) in your mouth to go back to neutral.  Why does this matter?  Because that means your mouth has been in cavity-producing mode during those couple hours after you finished eating!  Better snacks for between meals include raw fruits and vegetables and a small serving of cheese.  Try to limit dried fruits to the times of day when you will be brushing your teeth immediately post-meal.  Dried fruits, while convenient, tend to stick in the grooves of your teeth and can cause cavities.

Did you or your child consume a few too many sugary treats around Halloween this year?  Don't forget to schedule your dental checkup, so that we can identify dental problems early.  When we can fix small teeth problems, a smaller amount of tooth structure is removed and the healthier that tooth is for a lifetime.  When dental examinations are sporadic, the problems are often much larger and more procedures are necessary.  Since Preventative Dentistry saves so much money (to the tune of $70 billion annually), why not let it save you some money also? 

Schedule your dental appointment with Dr. Melanie Steckelberg today.  Call (402) 489-7800 or visit us on the web www.steckelbergdental.com

 
Sources:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glycemic-index-diet/MY00770
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate-vs-usda-myplate/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

Fun in the Mud

Every once in awhile an experience comes along that you just can't pass up.  For myself, that was yesterday... Kawasaki Motors in Lincoln, Nebraska had been hosting a big district meeting this week and decided to allow Kawasaki employees and family to test drive some RUVs this week.  Kawasaki Motors California set up and maintained a great track for us to have fun on.  When it rained in the afternoon, I was worried that my evening drive was going to be cancelled... no worries, the ride went on with a couple changes to the course.  We were fortunate to drive a Kawasaki Teryx vehicle in 4WD over turns, bumps, rocks, hills and some straightaways to get up some speed.  This was a great experience - Thanks so much, Kawasaki!

I actually think the muddy course demonstrated the ease of handling this vehicle has... so maybe I want one now just like my husband.  I was the driver in these photos, but don't you worry, my husband still got his time in on the vehicles this week.

Just a few mud chunks present after the ride on this 2012 Teryx...  Check out one of the 2013 Teryx that is proudly made in USA - manufactured only in Lincoln, Nebraska!

The dental office of Dr. Melanie A. Steckelberg located at 3201 South 33rd Street, Suite A in Lincoln, Nebraska 68506  (402) 489-7800.  Call us today for an appointment.

Spring... We're Ready For YOU!

This is the time of year where I start to get antsy for Spring.  I start thinking about sunshine, warm weather and not needing to wrap up in a jacket before leaving the house. Since we definitely still need a jacket to go outdoors, I decided to start an Easter project... FABRIC CARROTS!  This is a project that a child can help by putting the stuffing inside the carrots and help tie the ribbons at the top.

I think they turned out okay.  They are being enjoyed as toys and decorations.  I love items with more than one purpose!

The tutorial for the fabric carrots can be found at  Clare's Craftroom.  I have to admit, I like her fabric choices better than mine.  The overall project was very inexpensive.  Have a Hoppy Day!

Visit Steckelberg Dental for all your dental needs.  Melanie A. Steckelberg, D.D.S., P.C.  3201 S. 33rd St, Suite A, Lincoln, Nebraska  68506  (402) 489-7800  www.steckelbergdental.com

National Children's Dental Health Month & Crayons

February is National Children's Dental Health Month!   Parents, you have a very important role in reducing your child's risk of dental decay (caries).  Often we think about brushing teeth as the way to reduce cavities, but there are other habits that can improve our dental health as well.  These habits truly apply to us all. 

Limiting between meal snacks - sticking to raw fruits and vegetables for snacks and only water as our beverage. 

Consume your sugars with your meals, and in moderation.  Why does it really matter WHEN sugary foods are consumed?  It has to do with the lasting effects after your last bites are swallowed.  After we consume sugary foods and beverages, the resultant acid sits on teeth for 20 minutes or more.  But even worse - the pH (acid level) in your mouth takes hours to return to normal.  What does this mean?  Well, your mouth is in a cavity-producing mode for 2-3 hours after eating foods harmful for dental health.  Wow!   So that 3pm candy bar may still be causing effects on the pH (acidity) of your mouth at 5:00 or 5:30pm! 

Limit that sugar contact.  You want to limit the length of time that sugary foods and beverages come in contact with your teeth.  If you are going to drink a sugary beverage or eat a sugary snack, do so in one setting.  In dental school we discussed research where people who sipped on a beverage all day long got more cavities than people that drank that beverage in one sitting.  This applies to food consumption as well - it seems to all come down to that pH balance in our saliva.  

Limit Diet sodas and sugar substitutes, as these still cause dental decay.  There is some misinformation on the internet stating that sugar substitutes do not cause cavities.  This statement was proven to be incorrect by dental student research at my dental college.  My classmates presented their research that cavity-causing bacteria eventually interact with a sugar substitute to cause cavities just like regular sugar.  The take-home message is, we need to limit our between-meal snacks, whether they are diet soda, regular soda, have regular sugar or a sugar substitute.  These items do have a place in our society, we just need to limit our consumption.  See the USDA website for more information about healthy meal choices and how the Nutrition Pyramid was replaced with Choose My Plate. 

Avoid introducing Juice into a child's diet until age 2, if at all possible.  Once they get started on juice, it is very difficult to reduce its consumption.  When a child falls asleep while drinking juice or milk, the sugary liquid pools around the teeth.  Often we do not realize that beverage is just sitting in the child's mouth until they wake up and swallow it.  This is seen all-too-often as Early Childhood Caries (cavities).  Milk and water are still the best choices for a young child's beverages.  Milk is a healthy drink, but even it has hidden sugars.  After each feeding, you will want to wipe the gums of a baby or brush the teeth of a child, who has their teeth. 

The Indiana Dental Association specifically talks about how our beverage choices impact dental health.  Read their article about how Fizzy Drinks make Fuzzy Teeth.    

So, after all that...

If you are into sewing and and looking for an easy non-sweet Valentine's Day gift, consider making a Crayon Roll.  It takes a very small amount of fabric, 1 button and an elastic hair tie. 

 You only need about 1/6 yard of the main fabric and if you are like me, you might have that amount sitting in your fabric stash at home.  This was my first project using a disappearing ink fabric marker.  It works pretty slick, as long as you are using a dark fabric marker on dark fabric.... so my lines are not perfect, but now I know better.  I did use the flannel to line it and was very happy with the results, as was my recipient!    

I used the tutorial and instructions from The Pleated Poppy. 

Happy Valentine's Day from Steckelberg Dental!

The dental office of Dr. Melanie A. Steckelberg located at 3201 South 33rd Street, Suite A in Lincoln, Nebraska 68506  (402) 489-7800.  Call us today for an appointment.
 

Valentine's Mail Bag

The month of February means many things to us all.  It seems that each and every day has been adorned with "This Group's" day.   While February is National Children's Dental Health Month (more to come in a later post), it is arguably most widely associated with Valentine's Day.  This year our household has been on the ball and our homemade Valentine's are finished and ready for preschool.  So I decided to do another Pinterest Valentine's project... a Pottery Barn inspired Mail Bag.  I was pretty proud of my work... it also gave me a chance to sew my first buttonholes.  The great thing about sewing for a young child is that they don't notice the mistakes you made along the way (well, not yet, at least).  Here's how this sewing project turned out...

 

Here's the side view

I took these photos on a cloudy afternoon... so the background is rather dark, unfortunately.

Today I presented my little one with her very own Valentine's Mail Bag.  We plan to give her "mail" each day through Valentine's Day.  Tomorrow is her father's day to send a "letter" to the little one.  It should make for a couple weeks of great fun.  :)

This project was inspired by a blog At Second Street, which was, of course, found on Pinterest.  The tutorial is quite helpful and the bag nicely fits a DVD, which is planned to be the Valentine's Day "Mail" for my little one.  Shhhh!  Don't tell her, the new movie is a surprise. 

The Start of Something Different

So I have been busy in my "free time" doing things other than dentistry.  Shocking, I know!  My purpose of this blog was to let you get to know me a little bit better.  Some might say that a dental office does not lend itself to truly get to know a person.  Well, maybe sharing my interests with you will help.  For instance, I have really enjoyed using Pinterest and have challenged myself to try out many of the Pins that inspire me.  I plan to share some of the things I have tried from Pinterest, as well as some other things that are going on in my life and at Steckelberg Dental over the next few months.  So to no avail, let's move this blog into a different direction.  Please let me share one of my family's favorite recipes, "Dad's Leftover Turkey Pot Pie."  I originally found it on All Recipes.  My husband makes this recipe and it is amazing!  This is what it looked like once before putting it into the oven.... 

This is how it looks after digging in!  D-elicious!

 Would you like to try your hand at this recipe?  Well, here is how it is made in the Steckelberg household.

INGREDIENTS
Our recipe makes one 9-inch pot pie

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn & green beans)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup margarine

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon dried onion

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked turkey meat (or chicken)
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

  Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Place the frozen vegetables and celery into a saucepan; cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-low heat until the celery is tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander set in the sink, and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. [Note: you may need to add more margarine or canola oil if mixture seems dry before adding flour, to avoid the flour clumping up.]  Stir in flour, salt, black pepper, celery seed, onion powder, and Italian seasoning; slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat; stir the cooked vegetables and turkey meat into the filling until well combined.
4. Fit 1 pie crust into the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish. Spoon the filling into your pie crust, then top with another crust. Pinch and roll the top and bottom crust together at the edge of each pie to seal, and cut several small slits into the top of the pie with a sharp knife to release steam.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover the pie with aluminum foil after about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Chimney Rock... both of them!

Awhile back the U.S. Mint produced quarters with one face for each state of the USA.  For Nebraska, our quarter featured Chimney Rock.

This past summer, my family decided to visit this National Historic Site.  I had not been to this monument before and it is in NEBRASKA - my home state.  Well, I really felt bad about this, as in 2007, I visited Chimney Rock State Park in North Carolina.  It was quite different from Nebraska's Chimney Rock.
How many of us from Nebraska realize that there is more than one Chimney Rock.... maybe this is a good Jeopardy question?

Below is the view from atop Chimney Rock (North Carolina) looking out in one direction.

And these are some of the winding stairs you have to climb up to get to the top of Chimney Rock.

If you decide to visit this area, you will get to experience the Smoky Mountains also.  :)
Some much better photos than my own are here: 

A Favorite Photo that I took of Chimney Rock in North Carolina.  2007.

A Tooth Fairy Moment

Now, I think Pinterest is just about the best thing ever.  However, if you ask my husband, he may share the complete opposite opinion.  But today, as a dentist, I am pretty excited about what I saw on my Pinterest feed.  A Receipt for a tooth.... from the tooth fairy.  How many times have you meant to write down the date a tooth was lost and it just didn't happen?  Jaded Blossom has a super cute way for the Tooth Fairy to deliver the goods and for you to have a receipt... that is even ready to go right into your child's scrapbook. 
Of course I also like the idea of a beautiful hand-made card from the Official desk of the tooth fairy.  :)

Apparently, some believe that the Tooth Fairy is pretty crafty.  One site even claims that she decorates her shoes with the teeth she collects.  Interesting, is about all I have to say about that!

How much Sugar are you Drinking?

Sometimes I wonder if a photo can just say it all?  

 

 Reblogged from Back On Pointe

Check out how many average drinks "stack up" according to sugar content.
Sugar Stacks

Since I've gone there... another way to look at it is from Science on the Brain  
Pass it on.... maybe we can prevent some cavities this way!

Visit us at Steckelberg Dental, 3201 South 33rd Street, Suite A, Lincoln, Nebraska.  (402) 489-7800
www.steckelbergdental.com

We have a Birthday Celebration!

Happy Birthday, to our wonderful dental assistant, Corinne!  Birthdays are a great reason to celebrate at Steckelberg Dental.  We had sandwiches delivered from a nearby sandwich shop, followed by cupcakes.  Yum!

Even dentists eat delicious cupcakes!

Dr. Steckelberg made these cute cupcakes and decorated them with Marshmallow Fondant on Halloween.  She only had a few trick-or-treaters at her house, which allowed a little more time to be creative.  Now, we know this is nothing like The Cake Boss cakes, but it is better than the 4-H cake decorating she used to do in middle school.  The marshmallow fondant recipe is from The Chaplain's Wife Blog... which of course, I found on Pinterest.  Go to
http://shawntheparsonswife.blogspot.com/search?q=fondant   for recipe specifics.

The first cupcake "cake" experiment with the marshmallow fondant.  My nieces seemed to like it!

Another GREAT thing about birthdays is getting a chance to relax and visit with your coworkers.  At Steckelberg Dental, we love to celebrate!  So Thank you, Corinne for sharing your birthday with us.  Happy Birthday, Corinne!

Visit us at Steckelberg Dental, the office of Melanie A. Steckelberg, D.D.S., P.C.  We are located at 3201 South 33rd Street, Suite A, in Lincoln, Nebraska  68506   (402) 489-7800.  Visit us on the web at www.steckelbergdental.com

Children & Dental Trauma

How can you be fully prepared for an injury the mouth?  Well, there is no way to be 100% prepared at all times.  Accidents happen and we are happy to provide emergency dental services for our patients.  The best way to prepare for accidents is to wear athletic mouthguards during sporting events and to receive preventative dental care.  Brushing your child's teeth until age 8 or 9 allows you to examine the teeth on a regular basis.  The dentition of a child changes quickly and you are an important resource in an emergency situation.  You may be asked about changes in your child's mouth.  If you are not sure what to be looking for, just ask at your next dental visit!   

Most dental trauma occurs between the 2-4 years and the incidence peaks again at 8-10 years.  *

30% of children suffer trauma to their primary dentition (baby teeth).  22% of children suffer trauma to their permanent teeth by age 14 years.  I wonder if these number might actually be higher, based on what I have seen during my time as a dentist!

A child with a recent dental injury might try to hide their mouth from you.  A trusted adult is best equipped to evaluate the situation.  This is just another reason why your child's first dental visit should occur by age 1.   The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry say that the first dental visit should occur within 6 months after baby's first tooth appears, but no later than their first birthday.  It is best to meet the dentist when your child is having no dental problems - don't wait until an emergency comes up. 

So what are you to do if your child falls and injures their mouth?  We encourage our patients to always give the office's emergency number a call (when the office is closed).  If necessary, Dr. Steckelberg will make arrangements to meet you at the office.  If this is a serious accident involving open lacerations on the face and a possible jaw fracture, we will need to involve an oral surgeon and possibly a hospital visit.  Don't worry, we will treat your child with TLC.

If it is a minor wound, make sure to stay as calm as possible (this will help your child) and then examine the area.  If there is blood and your child is cooperating, then wrap an ice cube in a clean washcloth.  Hold that to the affected intraoral area for one minute; it helps to have your child sitting next to your or in your lap (age/size dependent).  The cold application usually helps reduce the bleeding.  It is now time to contact your dentist to discuss the situation.   

*Source:  Handbook of Pediatric Dentistry, Edited by A Cameron & R Widmer. 1998.

Considering Straightening Your Teeth?

Are you considering having orthodontics?  If so, what is preventing you from scheduling?  [Keep in mind that I do not receive any profit from orthodontics, I just want to make sure that you are happy with all aspects of your smile!] 

When I was a kid, I did not ask my parents for braces as I knew money was tight.  As a dental student, I knew that I should get braces, but I did not want braces in photos.  When I thought about the orthodontic world I kept imagining myself in metal brackets.  I also thought that one year was a really long time to be in treatment.  A year in orthodontic treatment did go really fast for me (yes, it surprised me, too!).  Yes, it took more time daily to keep my mouth clean.  Yes, you could see the wires during treatment.  But, have you seen what can be done with ceramic brackets?  Check it out below:  (you get to see my husband also).  When I look at this photo, I just notice the wire on my teeth, not the ceramic brackets.  Also I do show a good amount of teeth when I smile, so you can really evaluate what possibilities ceramic brackets can offer).

Even from across a restaurant table, the casual observer often would miss that I was undergoing orthodontic care. When I underwent orthodontics, a professional photographer did take my photo indoors; with these photos I did notice the brackets more (not a professional photo below).  In our family, we are more likely to just take snapshots of one another.  So for me, I was so happy to have my teeth straightened.  I was admittedly happier once the treatment was over, but I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Consider orthodontics, you may even qualify to wear "invisible" trays instead of metal or ceramic brackets.  Ask Dr. Steckelberg for more information about the exciting world of teeth straightening.  I've been there, done that, and have some good pointers for surviving the journey!

Dogs like Dentures

Did you know that dogs like dentures?  It seems that dogs like anything that is made of acrylic.  So this means that you MUST protect your athletic mouthguards, bruxism guards, orthodontic retainers, and the like from these predators.  Otherwise....

You might not want to put it in your mouth again
...never ever ever ever.

You could go so far as to look at your denture and decide that the relationship is O.V.E.R while belting it out like Taylor Swift, "But we are never ever ever ever getting back together."